You’ve been playing Monopoly all wrong… the rules almost NO ONE knows about and how to WIN everytime

IF there's one game that has become known as the root of family disagreements, it's Monopoly.

However, if you choose to get it out and play this Christmas, these few tips may end the arguing and allow you all to enjoy the well-known board game.

Buy property at every turn

You may already think that you can only buy a property if you land on it.

But you can actually auction every property any player lands on.

If a player lands on an unowned property but does not wish to buy it: “The Banker sells it at auction to the highest bidder.

"Any player, including the one who declined the option to buy it at the printed price, may bid.”

So, any property that any player lands on has a chance to be yours right away, no matter where you are on the board.

You may want to hold off the auctioning until other players have less money but read below to see why.

Stop collecting “free parking”

Do you claim Community Chest money every time you land on free parking?

This, sadly, is wrong as according to the official rules: “A player landing on this place does not receive any money, property or reward of any kind. This is just a ‘free’ resting place.”

Hasbro gets hundreds of calls a year about this, despite the rules being in every game box.

Free parking is meant to be a space where the player can stop, rent-free.

Some players choose to play by their own 'house rules' which includes made up rules of their own, such as mum always gets out of jail free, or the game finishes after an hour, no matter what.

The 'house rule' on Free Parking means all fines are collected in the middle of the board and are claimed by anyone who lands on the Free Parking space.

Hasbro did not accept these 'house rules' until 2015, when they added: "All taxes and fees will be collected in the middle of the game board, if you land on Free Parking, it’s your lucky day: collect all the money from the middle of the board."

Later on in the game, any space without property fees will keep you going.

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Make the most of jail

Even whilst in jail, you CAN collect rent on your properties.

The rules state that: “Even though you are in jail, you may buy and sell property, buy and sell houses and hotels and collect rents.”

The only real penalty of being in jail is not being able to move for three turns.

Later on in the game, jail is one of the best places you can land, when the board is covered in other players' properties.

Being in jail means you avoid landing on your rivals’ rent traps, while they still have to pay you for landing on yours.

The “Go to jail" card will have you skipping there with glee later on in the game.

How to ensure you win every time

Buy or Trade properties to stop others completing a Monopoly

Aim to stop every player from getting all the properties of the same colour/same area on the board.

Land at places where you see another player building a monopoly or trade to snag somebody else’s property and put a spanner in the works. 

Railroads are where the cash is

Early on, Railways pay more than any properties on the map, making them a secret golden goose.

Having more than one railway gives you a multipler without having to build.

Utilities, however, do not pay as well, so are not worth investing in.

Stay in Jail

Early on in the game, when there are a lot of properties up for sale, get out as soon as possible.

Later on in the game, wait it out by chilling in jail as other players land on your properties and pay you rent.

Being in jail means you don't visit any properties, saving you a lot of moolah.

Start auctioning when other players have no money

At the start, when everyone has money, do not auction off property.

Eventually, when only two or three properties are left and the other players do not have much money left, auction the properties you land on.

This means you might get them at a lower price, or you can hike the price so much that the other players reach bankruptcy.

Build strategically

It can be tempting to get all the properties of one colour on the board.

This 'collection' makes most people build there straight away.

However, it's best to invest in houses and hotels slowly, so hold off until later.

Keeping your options open means you have more cash in the game, but also means you have properties with good returns to generate more.

This will help you save cash whilst opponents are spending more and more.

For more stories on games, see if you can solve this mind-bending riddle? People are scratching their heads over it… so can YOU work out who Theresa is?

Or can you find the tiny tree in this festive scene? It's well-hidden!